4 Elements (2006)

Fire, water, earth and air as seen through the experiences of Siberian
smokejumpers, Alaskan king crab fishermen, German miners and Russian
cosmonauts. Lushly photographed, Jiska Rickels’ stunning documentary
provides a glimpse into the tenuous and oft-times dangerous
relationship between people and the planet.

The mythopoeic four elements–fire,
water, earth and air–as seen through the experiences of Siberian
smokejumpers, Alaskan king crab fishermen, German miners and Russian
cosmonauts, are the focus of Jiska Rickels’ stunning, lushly
photographed documentary. Impressionistic and favouring a poetic mise
en scène, Rickel’s film provides a glimpse into the tenuous and
oft-times dangerous relationship between people and the planet we
inhabit.

In chapter one, we journey deep beneath the German countryside where
colours vanish, sounds distort and the machinery of the mine is the
only music mineworkers hear. The fellowship of the workers provides the
beautiful counterpoint to the high-tech immensity of this impressive.
but still slightly hellish, coal mine. Chapter two chronicles four days
and nights in the lives of Alaskan king crab fisherman in the Bering
Sea. Passionate and hard-working, these men face freezing temperatures
and high winds to earn their money. Then we are off to
Siberia–specifically the forest-fire-prone area that stretches from
the tundra to the Mongolian Altai Mountains–to watch “smokejumpers”
parachute from helicopters in an effort to control the fires that
destroy forests and kill wildlife. Finally, we delve into the world of
astronauts, as Rickels’ camera captures the gruelling training regime
prospective space travellers are forced to undergo… Together, the
four chapters provide a unique and deeply affecting picture of how
humankind has always striven to exist within the dominating framework
imposed upon it by the four elements.

Netherlands, 2006, 89 min, Digibeta

Directed By: Jiska Rickels
EXEC PROD: Frederik Nicolai
PROD: San Fu Maltha
SCR: Jiska Rickels
CAM: Martijn van Broekhuizen
ED: Kristian Claas
MUS: Horst Rickels

» Lage kwaliteit (Trailer)

» Lage kwaliteit (Trailer)